By importing gas from Turkmenistan, Iran aims to promote its gas trade in the long term, the Mehr News Agency quoted Araqi as saying.

However, Iran has decreased imports of gas from Turkmenistan since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21), he added.

On August 11, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said the country does not need to import natural gas from Turkmenistan.

“However, Iran is importing Turkmen gas just because it is important to promote political and economic relations with Turkmenistan,” he mentioned.

Iran plans to boost natural gas production by 200 million cubic meters in Iranian calendar year 1394 (March 2015-March 2016) and will no longer need to import gas from Turkmenistan, he added.

Iran has the world’s biggest reserves of natural gas, with an estimated 1.193 quadrillion cubic feet of gas reserves, and the world’s fourth-biggest reserves of oil, with 157 billion barrels, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy, which was published in June 2014.